Burial-vault.



No. 728,337. j PATENTEDMAY 19-, 1903.

. B. F. VAN CAMP.

BURIAL VAULT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. a. 1902.

no MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 V w th 1000M "m: Ncnms PETE! co. wncvoumu.WASHINGTON, 0. c4

PATENTED MAY 19, 1903.

B. F. VAN CAMP.

BURI AL VAULT.

' APPLICATION PILBD FEB. 3, 1902.

ma ma W LD 1 moo/o THE Monms PETERS c0. PNuTd-umo; WASNINCITDNQDI c.

UNI ED STATES iatented May 19, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. .vAN CAMP, on WARSAW, INDIANA, ASSIGNQR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO INDIAN 'BUBIALVAULT COMPANY, OFINDIAN- APOLIS, INDIANA,A OORPO TIO OF NDIANA.

BUR'lAL VAU LT.-

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 728,337, dated May19,1903. I

Application filed February 3, 1902. Serial No. 92,454. (No model.)

out is disclosed a vault composed of a number of separate moldedsections of plasticmaterial, said sections being strengthened bymetallic frames embedded therein.

The objects of my invention, stated'more specifically, are toeliminate'certain of these embedded frames without weakening the slabsor sections; to provide a novel form of joint between the sections, saidjoints being calculated to strengthen the structure at those pointswhere the slabs or sections abut; to construct the cover-sections in amanner to provide against possible injury to the cover- 'frames when thecover-sections orslabs are piled one upon another for storage ortransportation; to strengthen the various slabs by metallic framesarranged exterior thereto, so that the'contraction and expansion of saidframes will not effect the checking or crack- I ing of the plasticmaterial, and, finally, to provide simple and efficient lockingmechanism which will automatically lock the coversections in place whenthe latter have beenlowered upon the vault, the various structuralfeatures being devised with a view to producing avault' which will beabsolutely air and water tight and burglar-proof.

To the accomplishment of these objects and others subordinate thereto,all as will hereinafter more fully appear, the invention in itspreferred embodiment comprehends that condescribed, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and succinctly defined in the appended claims.

1 In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my vaultcomplete,parts being broken struction and arrangement to be hereinafter away tobetterdisclose the construction. Fig 2' is a longitudinal verticalsection on the line 2 2 of Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal sectional viewon the line 3 3 of Fig.4. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on thevline 4 4 of' Fig. .2. Fig.5 is a detailperspective view of one of thecover-frames'ahd Fig. 6 is a desections which when assembled form acovered receptacle for the reception of a casket.

-The bottom is composed'of. three sections or ,slabs l, 2, and 3, andits'outeredgeis rabbeted, as indicated at 4, to receive the lower edgesof side sections or slabs 5, 6, 7, and 8 and end sect-ionsor slabs 9 and10, the end edgesof the side walls of the vault being rabbeted, asindicated at 11, (seeFig. 3,) to accommodate the side edges of the endslabs 9 and 10. v

Thus far the construction isnot materially differentfrom that disclosedin. the patent; but it'will be noted that the manner of forming thejoints between the meeting edges of the slabs or sections, isdistinctlydifferent'in the presentinsta'nce and is vastlysuperior to themeans employed heretofore. The opposed faces of the joints instead ofbeing brought substantially flush are disposed in divergent relation,the divergence being outward to permit the interposition of cement orother bonding material 12,.Jwhichf at the corners and sides of the Vaultis exte'nded'beyondfl the joint proper to form a heavy strengthen- 18,19, and 20.

molded or may be removed. In either event the quantity of bondingmaterial employed in forming the joint serves to make the structure evenstronger than if the vault were formed in a single cast or molding.

While, as heretofore stated, I have. found it undesirable to embedmetallic frames in the plastic slabs, I nevertheless consider itdesirable to strengthen the slabs by means of a metallic framework,which instead of being entirely embedded in the material is merelyseated around the edges of each slab, so that the latter will not bechecked or cracked by the contraction and expansion of the metal afterthe vault has been exposed to heat or cold. These frames, which areindicated by 15, are merely strips of metal of substantiallysemicircular cross-sectional contour passed around the edges of asection or slab and having their ends connected in any suitable manner,as by welding, riveting, or the like, it being observed that thesebinding-frames are retained in place not only by reason of their beinginserted in the edges of the slab, but also by the bonding, inserted inthe joints.

It has been stated that the opposed faces of the joints divergeoutwardly, and while this is true in a majority of instances it shouldbe noted that the joints l6 and 17 in the bottom of the vault areexceptions to this rule and diverge inwardly.

The construction thus far described comprehends the vault or receptacleproper; butit will be noted that an arched cover is provided forcompletely closing and sealing the vault after the casket has beendeposited therein. This cover includes a plurality of sections,preferably three in number and indicated by Each cover-section istransverselyarched and is composed of plastic material molded upon ametallic cover-frame comprising longitudinal frame members 21 and 22, towhich are riveted or otherwise secured the opposite ends of spacedarch-bars 23, each alternate archbar being provided with a tie-bar 24:,secured at its opposite ends to the opposite sides of the arch-bar, at aslight distance above the extremities thereof. This particulararrangement should be especi-ally noted for the reason that thiselevation of the tie-bars to a plane somewhat above the lower edges ofthe cover, permits the casket to extend somewhat higher than the sidewalls of the vault, and thereby permits the vertical dimensions of thevault to be decreased somewhat. At each extremity of the cover the endtie-bar 25 of the terminal coversection extends between the extreme endsof the adjacent arch-bar, the contiguous extremities of this arch-bar,the tie-bar 25, and the longitudinal bars 21 and 22 being secured by asingle rivet or bolt 26. (See Fig. 5.) The arch-bars of the cover-framesthus constructed are embedded in the cover-sections; but the tie-bars 24extend transversely across the dome of the arch, while the longitudinalbars 2l'and 22 and the terminal tie-bars 25 extend along the lower edgesof the cover imposed upon the upper edges of the vault.

In my patented construction I employed cover-frames somewhat similar tothose herein described; but I find in practice that the unbackedtie-bars are apt to become bent or broken or to cause cracking orchecking of the cover-sections when a number of such sections are piledone upon another for the purpose of storage or transportation. Mypresent invention, therefore, contemplates the formation of backing-ribs27 upon the inner side of the arch and depending to the tie-bars, thesebacking-ribs being preferably formed of plastic material and moldedintegral with the cover-sections. I have also found it desirable to formstrengtheningribs 23 upon the under side of the cover-sections directlyopposite or below such of the arch-bars as are not equipped withtie-bars, inasmuch as said arch-bars are designed to be employed for theretention of rings or handles 29 by means of which the cover-sectionsare lowered upon the vault. One other peculiarity of the cover-framesshould be noted before we pass to a consideration of the coversecuringdevices. By reference to Figs. 2 and 4: it will be noted that the joints20 between the cover and the upper edges of the vault or receptacle aremade outwardly flaring by reason of the beveling of the under edges ofthe cover-sections. For this reason the longitudinal bars 21 and 22 ofthe coverframes are given a slight angular disposition to accommodatethem to the beveled edges of the cover.

The foregoing description is believed to be complete so far as theconstruction of and the manner of assembling the various sections areconcerned; but an additional feature of my invention involves a simpleand effective locking device or a series of locking devices which serveto automatically lock the coversections in place as soon as they havebeen lowered to place. These locking devices are in the form ofcooperating catches 31 and 32, carried by the cover and receptacle,respectively,and designed to interlock when brought into proper relativepositions. The upper members 32 of these catches are bolted, riveted, orotherwise secured to the longitudinal bars 21 and 22 of the cover-framesand depend just Within the side and end walls of the receptacle when thecover is mounted thereon. The catch members 31 are of spring form andconstitute the upper ends of anglebraces 33, which extend down along theside and end walls and are bent at their lower ends to formcorner-brackets 34 at the lower inner corners of the receptacle. Theengaging ends of the catch members are provided with engaging heads 35,havinginclined faces 36, which engage one another and cause the members31 to spring back, and thus permit the members 32 to move to theirengaging positions. The angle-braces 33 are secured to the walls ofv thereceptacle by bolts 37, extended into the plastic material and providedwith nuts 38, disposed against angular retaining-plates 39, embedded inthe slabs, as best shown in Fig. 6 ofthe drawings.

In conclusion, it maybe stated that my vault is constructed of plasticmaterial which is absolutely impervious to water, and the vault istherefore moisture-prooflas well as secure against the inroads ofevilly-disposed persons.

It is thought that from the foregoing, the construction and manyadvantages of my vault will be clearly apparent, but while the presentembodiment of the invention is thought at this time to be preferable Iwish to reserve the right to effect such changes,modifications,and'variations of the illustrated structure as may besuggested by experience and experiment and embraced within the scope ofthe protection prayed.

What I, claim is- 1. A burial-vault comprising a receptacle and anarched cover, said cover being provided with transverse tie-barsextending transversely acrossthe arch thereof and with backing-ribsextending from the cover and constituting backings for the tie-bars.

.2. A burial-vault comprising a receptacle and an arched cover, saidcover being pro: vided with connected arch -bars embedde therein,tie-bars extendingacross the arch of the cover and secured to thearch-bars, and backing-ribs extending downwardly from the cover andconstituting backings for the tiebars.

3. A burial-vault comprising a receptacle,

an arched cover and a cover-frame, said coverframe comprisinglongitudinal bars disposed,

along the opposite sides of the cover, archbars extending between thelongitudinal bars an arched cover, and a cover-framecomprisinglongitudinal bars extending along the opposite longitudinal edges of thecover, arch-' molded sections, and metallic binding-frames extendingcontinuously around the sections and seated in the edgesthereof.

6. A burial-vault comprising'a receptacle and cover, said receptaclebeing 7 provided with internal angle-braces secured to and 1y ingagainst the side walls thereof and bent at their lower ends to formcorner-brackets, lat erally-yielding catch members formed at the upperends of the angle-braces, and co6per-' ating catch members dependingfrom the cover and disposed to pass between the receptacle-walls and theyielding catch members to engage the latter.

7. In a burial-vault, the combinationwith a receptacle andcover'composed of plastic material, of a metallic strengthening-frameembedded in said cover, catch members secured to said frame and extendedinto the receptacle, and braces secured to the inner faces of the wallsof the receptacle, said braces being bent at their lower ends to formcornerbrackets located at the lowercorners of the receptacleand formedat. their upper ends with spring catch members provided with headsdisposed for engagement with the catch members extending from the cover.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN VAN CAMP. Witnesses: I

LEMUEL W. ROYSE, J OHN W. WEBBER.

